I’ve spent many years helping others organize their home offices, bring order to their chaotic lives and overcome information overload. Throughout the years of digging through mountains of paper, analyzing and solving time crunches and designing home office havens, I’ve reached one conclusion: sometimes you can be too organized.
At times I envy my clients, seminar attendees and people who send me e-mails telling me about their disorganized lives. When they miss a deadline, it’s expected and understood. If I were to miss a deadline, everyone would question my organizing skills.
Being disorganized is the next task on my to-do list.
When someone who is disorganizationally challenged locks his keys in his car, he’s absent-minded. When several years ago I locked my keys in the car with my kids inside—the air conditioner was on and in five minutes a friend arrived with a spare key—I heard the annoying phrase, “not too organized!”
If one of my associates were to drop the ball, the client would blame me for not doing a better job of screening my associates. The average disorganized person can do the same thing—quickly blame the associate in question—and everyone nods in agreement that you can’t find good help anymore.
While one of the highest rated New Year’s resolutions after losing weight and giving up smoking is getting organized, mine this year has been to be disorganized. I’ve decided to stop being so “Type A” and let a few things slip—just as soon as I finish two more columns, a proposal, and a few other pending projects. I’ll even note on my calendar the day I’m going to start my quest for disorganization. I just hope it fits into my schedule.
